Tīhei Wāhine Ora through Pū-Rā-Ka-Ū - Te Auaha Pito Mata Awards Series

The Community Research Te Auaha Pito Mata Awards are held to celebrate the impact of emerging researchers whose work uplifts communities, strengthens knowledge, and creates positive change in Aotearoa.
This webinar series introduces the 2026 Award winners and offers an opportunity to hear directly from these inspiring researchers as they share their work, insights, and aspirations for the future.

In this webinar, we meet Paula Ormsby, winner of the Billie Award, to learn about her outstanding contribution as a community researcher to ‘Tīhei Wāhine Ora: Wāhine from Gang Whānau Healing Intergenerational Trauma’. As Rangatira of Wāhine Toa, Paula’s longstanding relationships of trust helped connect participants with the researcher, while her leadership provided strength, guidance and community oversight throughout the project.

We are also joined by esteemed researcher Paora Moyle, who conducted the Tīhei Wāhine Ora research. Paora brings 30 years’ social work experience and extensive Hauraki-based research into family violence, housing poverty, agency harm, disaster response, and abusive child-protection processes.

The webinar is facilitated by Kaye Maree Dunn.

About the research:
Tīhei Wāhine Ora: Wāhine from Gang Whānau Healing Intergenerational Trauma, is a Health Research Council-funded research project conducted by Paora Moyle, with Paula Ormsby providing community leadership and oversight throughout the project.

Read the research here.

The Pū-Rā-Ka-Ū: Decolonial Framework for Collective Healing download the pdf here

Comments from our judges:
Through longstanding relationships of trust and accountability with wāhine from gang whānau, Paula provided community leadership and governance that strengthened the research from its development through to completion.

The judges particularly noted the research’s uncompromising rejection of deficit framing, positioning wāhine as knowledge holders and lived experience as expertise.

Ways you can support

Paula Ormsby has written a paper to provide an opportunity for people to understand the lived experience that sits behind the work of Wāhine Toa. This provides useful context for understanding the wish list and why it’s so important.
Read Paula’s paper

The Wāhine Toa wish list
This detailed wish list outlines tangible way to support the range of services provided by Wāhine Toa, and their aspirations for the future.

Read the wish list

If you’d like to discuss supporting any aspect of the wish list please email Paula directly by clicking here

Financial contributions
Community Research is facilitating contributions to support the aspirations and priorities of Wāhine Toa.

Please make your payments to this bank account: 38-9007-0497698-001